Weingut Deutzerhof
Back in Mayschoss, we called next on Wolfgang Hehle, a former accountant, who now runs the Weingut Deutzerhof. The grand, new Deutzerhof estate lies on the outskirts of town, tucked away at the base of the hills.
In his new office and house, Mr. Hehle has built an elegant second story room for hosting small, private, catered gatherings which feature Deutzerhof wines. He grows mostly Spätburgunder (62%) and Riesling (15%) grapes, with smaller amounts of Portugieser, Dornfelder, Frühburgunder and Chardonnay.
He was named "vintner of the year" in the German publication Alles ber Wein, which judged 1996 wines and ranked Deutzerhof in four of the top 10 places. Mr. Hehles wines tend to be fuller than Meyer-Nkels, but not as elegant according to Wein Sonderheft.
Tasting is available by appointment, while supply lasts. Prices vary widely depending on quality, for example from about $10 for the 1997 Cossmann-Hehle Spätburgunder to about $33 for the 1997 Grand Duc Select Spätburgunder -Auslese-trocken.
Owners: Wolfgang and Hella Hehle
Specialities:
- 1997 Catharina C. Riesling QbA trocken
- 1996 Dornfelder QbA trocken
Address: Deutzerhof, D-53508 Mayschoss, tel. +49/02643/7264, fax 3232
En route to the lower end of the valley is the town of Walporzheim, which boasts the State Wine Domain (Staatliche Weinbaudomne), the largest vineyard in the Ahr at 19 hectares/47 acres. The estate is located in the former Augustinian monastery of Kloster Marienthal, which was founded in 1137.
J. J. Adeneuer
The twin towns of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler are the largest and most central areas of the valley. Here, we found the J. J. Adeneuer winery in a most unlikely location the industrial center of Bad Neuenahr. The land surrounding the Adeneuer house has been designated by the state as an industrial development area and now, after 500 years of rural country location, the winery has become an island of tranquility in the midst of car repair shops, gas stations, hardware stores, and the like.
As we chatted over glasses of a 1997 Spätburgunder Weissherbst Qualitätswein-halbtrocken, a white wine made from red grapes, (about $9 per bottle), Mr. Adeneuer recounted an anecdote that illustrates the relative size of most Ahr Valley wineries. He recently traveled to France to buy new oak barrels from the same firm where the Napa Valley's Robert Mondavi Winery purchases its barrels. But while Mr. Adeneuer needed just eight of the barrels, Mondavi purchased 25,000.
In the quaintly decorated tasting room, we sampled a slightly spicy 1997 J.J. Adeneuer No. 1 Spätburgunder-Auslese ($23), which is bottled directly from steel tanks rather than barrels; and the house speciality, a 1997 Walporzheimer Grkammer Spätburgunder-Spätlese-trocken ($24), which also is not barreled.
The winery has won awards in the Rheinland-Pfalz district in 1980, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1996, and 1997. Mr. Adeneuer is happy to hold tastings by appointment.
Owners: Frank and Marc Adeneuer (brothers)
Specialities:
- 1997 J. J. Adeneuer No. 1 Spätburgunder Auslese-trocken
- 1997 Walporzheimer Grkammer Spätburgunder Spätlese-trocken
Address: OT Ahrweiler, Max-Planck-Strasse 8, D-5374 Bad Neuenahr, tel. +49/02641/344 73, fax 373 79
Open Mon.-Fri. 8-6pm, Sat. 8-3pm.